Navone Stuns Djokovic in US Open First Round

Novak Djokovic has rewritten plenty of tennis history. On Sunday night in New York, he added a line he never wanted.

For the first time, the 24-time Grand Slam champion lost in the opening round of the US Open, beaten 7-6 (5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 by Mariano Navone in a bruising, four-and-a-half-hour duel that finished just before midnight.

A 39-year-old legend, undone not by the occasion, but by a body that simply refused to cooperate.

A Marathon Turns Sour

The match began like so many Djokovic night sessions in Arthur Ashe Stadium have over the years: the favorite absorbing pressure, probing, feeling out his opponent. Navone, though, refused to play the role of wide-eyed underdog. He matched Djokovic from the baseline, traded heavy blows, and stayed with him through a tense opening set that he edged in a tiebreak.

Djokovic hit back. He clawed his way into the contest, leveled in the second set, and then surged to take the third. At two sets to one up, the script looked familiar. Another opponent pushed back, another Djokovic comeback, another night where the Serb bent but did not break.

Then his body did.

The signs had been flickering all year. Djokovic himself admitted it. “It’s something that I’ve been carrying, unfortunately, pretty much every match this year: vomiting, throwing up, a serious issue there,” he said. On Sunday, the issue exploded into full view.

He threw up on court at least once. Cramps gripped his left foot. His movement dulled, his shoulders sagged. Between the fourth and fifth sets, he needed a medical timeout for his lower back. The fourth set ran away from him 6-2, and the fifth turned into a rout.

“My whole body starts to collapse, basically cramping and pain,” Djokovic said. “Yeah, the back just gave up in the end and shoulder, and I couldn’t close it out.”

The words were blunt. So was his verdict on the experience: “I didn’t enjoy myself. I think it was obvious that it was an awful feeling on the court for me.”

A Night for Navone

As Djokovic’s body unraveled, Navone’s belief hardened. The Argentine, facing the greatest returner of his generation, kept his nerve and his patterns. He attacked short balls, took the ball early, and leaned into the physical chaos with remarkable composure.

The pressure that had once radiated from Djokovic’s side of the net shifted. Navone began to dictate. He stormed through the fourth set, then dominated the decider 6-1, turning what had looked like a classic Djokovic escape act into one of the shocks of the tournament’s recent history.

For Djokovic, it marked his earliest departure from a major since the 2006 Australian Open, when he lost to American Paul Goldstein. Twenty years of dominance, interrupted by a first-round exit that felt as much like a medical bulletin as a tennis result.

He arrived in New York still chasing a 25th major title, his last Slam triumph coming at this very tournament in 2023. That quest will have to wait.

Buse and Parry Hit New Heights Before New York

While Djokovic’s US Open campaign ended almost as soon as it began, two rising names arrived in New York carrying very different momentum.

Ignacio Buse walked into the tournament as the youngest champion in Winston-Salem Open history. The 22-year-old captured the ATP 250 title with a commanding 6-3, 6-2 win over Arthur Fery in the final, securing the second tour-level trophy of his career. The victory capped a surge that has taken him to a career-high No. 30 in the rankings, another marker in a season that is starting to look like a breakout.

Diane Parry, meanwhile, chose Monterrey to announce herself properly on the WTA stage.

The 23-year-old Frenchwoman lifted the first WTA title of her career at the WTA 500 event, surviving a wild final against Elise Mertens, 6-4, 0-6, 6-3. The scoreline told the story of a player who absorbed a beating in the second set, then reset and refused to fold in the third.

Parry had never before won a tour-level semifinal, entering the week with an 0-5 record at that stage. In Monterrey, she broke through by taking out fifth seed Ann Li to reach her first final, then defeated Mertens for the second time in two weeks to seal the title.

Her run was no soft draw. Parry stacked up five Top 50 wins, beating Mertens, Li, Clara Tauson, Oleksandra Oliynykova, and Donna Vekic on the way to the trophy.

Week’s Champions at a Glance

• At Winston-Salem, Buse’s triumph headlined the ATP 250 event:
• • Men’s Singles: Ignacio Buse (2/2 in 2026 titles/career titles) d. Arthur Fery
  • Men’s Doubles: Petr Nouza and Neil Oberleitner d. Austin Krajicek and Nikola Mektic
• In Monterrey, Parry’s breakthrough defined the WTA 500:
• • Women’s Singles: Diane Parry (1/1) d. Elise Mertens
  • Women’s Doubles: Maya Joint and Yifan Xu d. Mariia Kozyreva and Maia Lumsden

As Djokovic wrestles with his body and his future at the very top, the tour keeps moving. New names are carving out space, new champions are raising trophies, and in New York, a once-untouchable first round has suddenly become a fault line.